Friday, March 6, 2009

BLT and Cheese Panini

The BLT is one of my favorite sandwiches, so I couldn't wait to try making one on our new panini maker. Ideally, I would use a good french bread to make this version, but my store-bought bread didn't quite survive the week the way I had hoped it would! In place of it, I used a basic sandwich bread. It was still good, but the french bread would have been better. The only other bit of advice would be to carefully monitor how long the sandwich cooks for. You obviously want the cheese to melt, but do not cook it much past that or your lettuce will get quite soggy.

BLT and Cheese Panini2 pieces of french bread per sandwich, cut at a diagonalcooked baconsliced tomatolettucemayonnaisemustardprovolone cheeseolive oil

Mix mayonnaise and mustard to taste and spread on one side of each slice of bread. Drizzle olive oil over the entire back side of each piece. Place oil side down. Assemble sandwich by placing one piece of cheese, bacon, tomato, and lettuce (in that order) on each sandwich half. Carefully place sandwich together and put onto the center of the panini grill. Press down on the top of the grill for about 10-15 seconds, then grill only until cheese is melted. Remove from the grill and cut diagonally.

We've had a panini press for a while, and we love it! Your sandwich looks delicious! I would think, though, if you used a more solid bread (like a French bread), you would have to press it longer to get a nice crust on the outside, and then that would make the lettuce soggier. I'm not sure, though...what do you think?

Mindy-- you're right... It would take a little longer for the sturdier bread, which does make the lettuce a bit soggier. I find that if you can make sure that the lettuce is as centered as possible in the sandwich, it helps shield it from getting most of the heat while the bread gets crisp and the cheese melts. If only there was a way to add the lettuce after pressing the sandwich! Sometimes I will leave the lettuce out to avoid the problem. In my opinion, if it isn't crisp, I don't necessarily want it in there anyway. Thanks for stopping by!

Congrats on the new panini maker! Lots of fun times ahead :-) Your sandwich looks great - gotta love a good BLT. My two cents on the lettuce - it is actually feasible to insert it after grilling, you just have to kind of "reserve" a spot for it away from the cheese. I learned that one on the Food Network one evening :-)

About Me

I started cooking in the kitchen with my mother when I was very little, and cannot wait to share those same experiences with my two children as they grow older. Cooking and baking is the ultimate relaxation for me and I love the joy of creating something new and sharing it with the people I love. I'm always looking for interesting new recipes, but also like to experiment with creating dishes and baked goods of my own. I love the way that certain foods (and sometimes the process associated with making them) can envoke cherished memories and I look forward to making new memories to pass on to my own children.